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PUBLISHED BY THE

k& American Tract Society,

/\j JVb. 144 Nassau- St.

'Jp? New- York.

'^ SERIES II.

NO. XVI.

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NS 16.

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STAFF OF X.IF&

PIT ELI SHED EY

THE AMERICAJV TRACT SOCIETY,

144 Nassau-street, New-Yoik,

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BREAD,

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There are a great many little boys
and girls, who eat bread every day, but
they do not know what it is made from,
or how it is made. Perhaps they will
like to read this little book, which will
tell them about it ? Bread is made from
grain. It is called the Staff of Life, be-
cause we could better spare any other
sort of food, than we could do without
bread and other things made from grain.
Children must go without puddings and
many other good things, if there were no
grain. When the Israelites were in the
wilderness, though they had raanua

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4 BREAD, THE [244

(which was very sweet and good) and
quails every day, yet they complained
very much because there was no bread,
Numbers, xxi. 3.

PLOUGHING.

I dare say you know that grain grows
out of the ground, but there is a good
deal to be done, or it will not grow pro-
perly. Farmers must first plough the
ground, for it is hard, and the seed will
not grow unless the plough loosens the
earth, and makes furrows in it ready to
receive the seed. Two persons one day
were looking at a man who was plough-
ing. One of them said to the other, u This

245] STAFF OF LIFE. 8

field reminds me of the state of my
heart, for my heart was as hard as that
ground is before it is ploughed up ; and I
should never have received the good seed
of the word of God, unless God had bro-
ken it up by the power of the Holy Spi-
rit." This is very true of us all, and we
should recollect that it is only God the
Holy Spirit, who can prepare our hearts
to receive His words.

SOWING.

When the ground is ready, then the
Sower comes. He walks over the field
and throws the seed on each side, till he

6 BREAD, THE [246

lias sown the field all over. Then the
earth is drawn into the furrows by a
harrow, and the seed is covered over.
The word of God, that is, the preaching
$f Christ crucified, is compared to seed;
it is sown in the heart, when you hear it
preached and believe it. When the seed
is sown, the birds come and try to pick
it up : it is necessary to set some one to
watch the field and drive them away.
When we are praying to God, evil
thoughts crowd into our minds, and
make us forget what we intended to say.
We must pray that they may be driven

away.

Christ compares himself to a sower,
and he, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
sows good seed in the hearts of men,
causing them to bring forth the fruits of
righteousness. Do you recollect the pa-
rable of the Sower ? May you be one of
those who receive the seed in good

ground.

We may remember, that whatever seed
is sown," the produce will be the same ;
wheat produces wheat, and the other sorts
of grain do the same. The Bible alludes
to this when it tells us that " he that
sovveth iniquity shall reap vanity," and
u whatsoever a man soweth that shall
he reap."

BREAl>,

[248

249] STAFF OF LIFE. 9

REAPING THE GRAIN.

Time goes on, the autumn comes,, and
the grain is ripe. Then the reapers cut
it down and tie it up in bundles or
sheaves. This is the happiest time of the
year for the farmer : he has been many
months anxiously watching his grain,
and now he reaps the fruits of his toil. So
will a true believer reap the fruits of his
faith in the dav when Christ comes ; and
he will be gathered by Christ into hea
ven, as the sheaves are gathered into the
barn.

The labourers are paid higher wages
during harvest time than usual, and they
also look forward to this season with
pleasure. So the followers of Christ re-
ceive their best rewards at the last. Now
it is seen whether any thing has hurt the
grain while growing or not ; if insects or
any thing else have injured it, the ef-
fects are now seen ; nothing can be now
done to make it better. Weeds often grow
mixed with the grain, and injure it a good
deal; when the time of harvest comes,
they can do no more mischief. So in
heaven the wicked cease from trou-
bling, and the weary are at rest. The
harvest is often mentioned, to remind us
of the day of judgment. Wc are invi-
ted to cone to the Saviour, and are told

10 BREAD, THE [250

now is the day of salvation, but when
death overtakes us, then it is too late.
Remember the promise, u Those that
seek me early shall find me." Do you
recollect the history of Ruth? I think she
sought the Lord betimes.

i SEPARATING THE WHEAT |
FROM THE CHAFF.

When the grain is reaped, it is car
ried home. The sheaves are placed in
stacks, and covered over with thatch, or
else stored in barns. When the farmer
thinks it is a proper time to send his grain
to market to be sold, he has it thrashed
out; that is, a man beats it with an instru-
ment called a flail, and separates the
grain from the straw and chaff. The
grain is then put into sacks. The chaff
is very light, and easily blown away by
the wind; it is of little value compar-
ed to the grain. So our Saviour com-
pares wicked men to chaff, and those
who love him are compared to wheat.

GRINDING THE GRAIN INTO

FLOUR.

The grain must next be taken to the
mill ; there it is put between two stones,

251] STAFF OF LIFE. 11

one of which turns round, and the grain
is soon ground to powder between them.
It is then called flour. There are seve-
ral sorts of flour, some sorts are much
finer and better than others, and the best
white bread is made from the finest. The
Israelites were told to offer flour in their
sacrifices to the Lord, and it was to be
the best and finest flour. Let us remem-
ber, that in serving God we should try
to do his will in the best manner we are
able. We all receive many mercies eve-
ry dav, but we are apt to forget them;
and we are the most inclined to forget
the greatest mercies ; those which relate
to our eternal happiness. Oh, may we
not forgot these things as we are natu-
rally inclined to do!

■M

12

BREAD, THE

[252

MAKING BREAD.

The flour is now ready to be made
into bread. For this purpose it is mixed
with water and a little salt, and kneaded
together; it is then called dough. Yeast
or barm is next added, which makes it
light and pleasant to eat. The oven is
heated; when it is ready, the dough is
cut into loaves, and they are put into the
oven and baked. An oven is made very
hot indeed. The prophet Maiachi, speak-
ing of God's judgment on the wicked,
says "Behold the day cometh that shall
burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea,
all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and

STAFF OF LIFE.

13

253]

the clay that cometh shall burn them up,
saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch. "
Who can dwell with everlasting- burn-
ings? Oh, then, my dear children, turn
to the Saviour; he is ready, he is willing*
to save, and he alone can save you from
the wrath to come. Whenever you eat
bread, think of the blessed Saviour, who
is the true bread that came down from
heaven to feed and nourish our souls.
He said, "I am the bread which came
down from heaven ; whosoever shall eat
of this bread shall live for ever." St*
John, chapter vi.

14

BREAD, THE

[254

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CONCLUSION.

You have now read about grain, how
it grows, and how it is made into bread.
Perhaps you did not think how much
trouble it was to make bread. Do you
recollect why there is all this trouble ?
When Adam sinned, God told him, " in
the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat
bread," meaning that he should not ob-
tain bread to eat without much labour
and toil. But it is also written, that
"man shall not live by bread alone."
Bread can only nourishhis body, it can-
not feed his soul; for this, even for our
salvation, Christ came down from hea-
ven. He said, "I am the bread of life,
He that cometh to me shall never lmn-

255] STAFF OF LIFE. 1$

ger," meaning that all who felt the mi-
sery of sin, and the fear of God's wrath
and came to Christ, should have pardon
and peace, and love from God, and he
made to love Him, and enabled to do
His will. This is true happiness. Will
not you say, like the disciples, " Lord
evermore give us this bread ?" '

My dear children, if you really feel
the evil of your own hearts, the misery
of sin, and evil ways, then pray to Jesus
and he will hear you. He said, " Him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out." Pray that God, the Holy Spirit,

may lead you to see your need of the
Saviour, and his salvation. Also remem-
ber, that bread nourishes and strength-

16 BREAD, THE STAFF OF LIFE. [256

ens the body; thus the Saviour, who call-
ed himself the bread that came down
from heaven, strengthens the soul. He
came from heaven, and suffered the death
of the cross, to wash us from our sins in
his precious blood. It is Christ only that
works in us, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, causing us to will, and to do ac-
cording- to his good pleasure. Bread
makes people hearty and strong, and
able to bear fatigue. So Christ can
strengthen us, and enable us to perform
his will. We need bread every day. We
need grace and strength from Christ eve-
ry day, and all day long. The Lord's
Prayer teaches us to pray, 'Give us this
day our daily bread/ and thus we ought
every dav to seek for Christ, beseeching
him to be ever present with us, and re-
minding him of his promise, " I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee*' 7

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9 10 THE |f|

m AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, |

«tf ; J ^ In addition to a very extensive se- I
£l| a lies of duodecimo Tracts, indifferent ®
IfOl ^ languages, Occasional Volumes, &c, $
y have published a large variety of I
V Children's Books, among which are ®
i the following : I

| Series H....JW. 2.... 16p's....32mo. I
I 17. Affectionate Daughter. k

I IS. The Happy African. |

I 19. Sally Butler, and Passionate Boy. k
I 20. Select Verses for Children. 1

+ 21. The Happy Man ; or, Life of I
I William Kelly.

I 22. The Image Boys.
I 23. The Lord's Praver.
$ 24. The May Bee. "
$ 25. The Wishing Cap.
I 26. Eyes and No Eyes.
I 27. The Shipwreck.

I 28, Memoir of Miriam Warner.

I 29. The Wreath. |

| 30. Little Sally of the Sabbath School, ffi
§ 31. To Children. By Cecil. |

$ 32. Christ our Example ; or, the $)
I History of Dorothea. |

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